Hank Stuever

Don Kaplan

Calm, nimble and damn funny, Noah didn’t even break a sweat and seems easily poised to carry on the satire and smarts that turned the Comedy Central talk show into a source of news and entertainment for an entire generation. The Daily Show is in good hands. That’s our moment of zen.

Willa Paskin

His first night in a very high-pressure situation, Noah seemed entirely at ease, starting with a little earnestness, segueing into material that he capably handled even though it still felt built to Stewart specs, and finishing with an entirely toothless interview with Kevin Hart.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Noah didn’t fade into the wallpaper, though. Although the broadcast preserved much of The Daily Show set, the opening theme, most of the recurring bits, and even closed with a Moment of Zen, there were many moments where the skinny South African (who is 31 but could pass for 21) gave us hints of how his Show might differ from Stewart’s--starting with energy, which is cool and aloof in a Johnny Carson vein, bordering on unflappable.

Gail Pennington

Daniel Holloway

He looked like he was enjoying himself throughout the half hour--a key quality in today’s late-night landscape. But most of all, he looked like a guy who might have the audacity to try to replace Jon Stewart. And that he just might pull it off.

David Sims

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah wasn’t without its foibles and clunky one-liners: the pitfalls any new late-night talk show has to dodge. But the biggest takeaway from Noah’s first swing at succeeding Jon Stewart was the new host’s energy and exuberant confidence--something most take weeks, if not months, to find.

Liz Shannon Miller

Jeff Jensen

The 31-year-old comedian from South Africa was confident and charismatic and full of joy for the job. He went down easy, and not just because he’s one handsome, telegenic man.... His jokes, while energetically performed, lacked POV and veered toward irreverence for irreverence’s sake, most notably, the crack about the size of the pope’s penis.

Robert Rorke

With his ever-present smile, he projects a genial, almost mild camera presence but lacks anything resembling the kind of edge that made Jon Stewart a name to be reckoned with. He has a hard road ahead of him.

Josh Bell

His version of the show doesn’t differ much from the one Stewart hosted at the end of his tenure. The correspondents are a mix of newcomers and holdovers, and the tone remains mostly bemused outrage at the state of the world.... In his first four shows, his personality didn’t shine through often enough. He was awkward in his interviews, failing to give Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie much of a challenge, and bumbling through more superficial celebrity chats.

Mark A. Perigard

He seemed to suffer from “Jimmy Fallon-itis”--he laughed too much at his own jokes.... The show pretty much stayed on point, with almost every joke leading back to Noah. He got to make the show all about him, and that’s OK--for one night, anyway.

Kristi Turnquist

On Monday night, Stewart's spirit hovered over the proceedings so much it was hard to get a sense of what makes Noah special. He seemed relaxed, and smiled throughout the whole show, looking entirely happy to be there.

Robert Lloyd

With a couple of minor changes--new graphics, new desk--Noah's first show kept everything in place. The theme song, the correspondents, the Moment of Zen. The bent remains political.... As with every new host since the beginning of hosts, he was the least comfortable in the interview segment--with "comedic rock star" Kevin Hart. It made him seem young in a way the rest of the show did not.

Erik Adams

Mark Dawidziak

The jokes weren't marginally different in tone and quality than those delivered so expertly for so many years by his predecessor, Jon Stewart. It was all about his delivery, which seemed breathless, slightly rushed and a little uncertain.... New correspondent Roy Wood Jr., reporting on the discovery of running water on Mars, made a stronger impression Monday night than Noah.

Rob Owen

Some of his jokes--about the pope’s privates, AIDS and Whitney Houston’s relationship with crack--probably gave an equal number of viewers reason for concern about taste, or elation that Mr. Noah will not pull punches. Senior Mars correspondent Roy Wood Jr. (“Sullivan & Son”) made a strong first impression joking about which black celebrities might get a chance to visit Mars.... Mr. Noah’s least interesting segment was an interview with comic actor Kevin Hart.

Verne Gay

Robert Bianco

It was a less than spectacular debut Monday--one that focused a bit too heavily on Noah's status as host.... Some of it was funny; some wasn’t. And some of it came perilously close to seeming like the show was trying to guilt us into liking him.